In the past it is known to mold materials between two confronting surfaces and, thereafter, to separate the surfaces. This invention is of a rigid tubular female member and a mating male member to fit in the female member which is callapsible in a first stage of generally radially inwardly movement of the walls of the male member and, thereafter, a second stage of axial movement of the male member. The invention is particularly useful for molding ice into an open container shape within which an item to be kept cool may be temporarily stored and which may include an insulation jacket surrounding the molded ice container. While not limited to molding of ice containers, which is a preferred product of the apparatus, the invention, it will be appreciated, may be utilized for molding other flowable molding materials into a solid state of predetermined size and a generally container-shaped configuration.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an inexpensive molding device including a first rigid container defining a molding chamber and a second collapsible member to be received within the container in spaced confronting relation defining within the container a molding space and which surfaces are adapted to be separated from one another by removing the member from the rigid container in a first stage of radial movement of separation of axially projecting walls and a second stage of movement of axial movement of the floor away from the floor of the container.
In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: